The present invention relates to a process for preparing a hand-held snack item wherein a heat-sensitive food material is applied to the surface of the snack item. In one embodiment of the present invention, the heat-sensitive food material is first applied to the surface of the hand-held snack item, which is then coated with a second coating. After the second coating is applied to the snack item, it is then subjected to a heating operation. The heat-sensitive food material remains substantially intact even when subjected to the heating operation because the second coating acts as a protective coating. The present invention further relates to the product of this process.
Hand-held snack items and methods for producing them are well known in the art. Examples of such snack items include granola bars, breakfast bars, cereal bars, and grain cakes such as rice cakes, corn cakes and popcorn cakes. The grain cakes are made by a method wherein the grain is expanded in an enclosed chamber in the shape of a disk or cake. In a typical method a premeasured quantity of grain is fed onto a heated piston. The piston and cereal grain are then advanced by a hydraulic cylinder into a heated female mold to create a small, hermetically sealed chamber enclosing the cereal grains. Heat and superatmospheric pressure are thereby applied to the cereal grains until, at a predetermined time, the pressure in the chamber is suddenly released by retracting the hydraulic cylinder. The suddenly depressurized chamber is not, however, sufficiently opened to release the cereal grains, but instead the hydraulic cylinder is retained in a substantially closed, but vented position. Therefore, as the pressure is released, the cereal grains expand to substantially fill the chamber, and while still in the plastic state bond together to form a small cake or cracker. The hydraulic piston is then fully retracted to open the chamber, and the cake is mechanically ejected. These cake-forming devices are most frequently used with rice as the cereal grain since rice is capable of relatively easy expansion into a self-supporting cake.
One issue concerning such hand-held snack items is their appearance. The snack items often have an unremarkable appearance, usually due to the fact that they are prepared from grains. One way to improve the appearance of such snack items to make them more appealing is to attach attractive food items to their surface. For example, chocolate chips could be attached to their surface.
Additionally, a complaint often raised concerning such hand-held products, and especially grain cakes such as rice cakes, is that they have little or no flavor. To address the flavor concern, especially for grain cakes, flavored versions of grain cakes have been introduced into the marketplace. Examples of such flavored grain cakes include butter flavored, caramel flavored, cheese flavored and chocolate flavored grain cakes. However, the grain cakes could be even further improved by attaching flavoring agents, such as chocolate chips, cinnamon powder, etc., to the surface of the grain cakes.
One problem encountered when developing these more appealing hand-held snack items, including the improved grain cakes, is that until now edible heat-sensitive flavoring materials, such as chocolate chips and cinnamon powder, could not be used. This is because in the processing of such snack items, and especially the grain cakes, the snack items would have to be coated with heat-sensitive food materials and then dried in a heated oven. The heat of the oven in this drying step has prevented the use of heat-sensitive food materials in that they would not be protected and would melt during such a heating operation. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a hand-held snack item, and especially a grain product, that has heat-sensitive food materials, including flavoring materials, applied thereto. The present invention further provides a method for preparing such hand-held snack items.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,451,488, issued May 29, 1984, to Cook et al., discloses a shelf stable, intermediate moisture, food bar having a soft and chewy texture with good taste. This is a chewy granola bar-type product.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,888,180, issued Dec. 19, 1989, to Wu, discloses an improved grain cake, method and apparatus. In the disclosed method, a predetermined quantity of cereal grains are heated in a hermetically sealed chamber at superatmospheric pressure. The heated grains are then expanded while they are confined to the chamber by abruptly releasing the superatmospheric pressure such that the confined, expanded grains bond together to form a self-supporting mass. In this method the cereal grains are pretreated by adding water to the cereal grains to bring their moisture content into the range of about 12% to about 18%. The moistened cereal grains are then steamed to bring them to an effective temperature to partially gelatinize the starch therein and to maintain the cereal grains at the effective temperature for an effective period of time to produce the desired degree of expansion in the final product. The steamed cereal grains are then dried to a moisture content of less than 18%.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,328,741, issued May 11, 1982, to Yoshikazu, discloses a method and apparatus for making shaped grain products. The disclosed method comprises the steps of compressing and heating for a predetermined time a raw material such as rice or the like. The raw material is compressed and heated within a hermetically closed chamber defined in upper and lower baking molds. After the predetermined time has elapsed, the compressed and heated raw material is expanded instantaneously by opening the baking molds and concurrently discharging steam produced within the chamber during the compression under heating. The expanded material is compressed again by means of the baking molds, thereby shaping the material into a cracker of desired form and self-sustaining structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,376,395, issued Dec. 27, 1994, to Pels, discloses a cooking machine and method. The disclosed method comprises introducing a cookable mixture into a molding volume having opposed ends; confining the volume of the molding volume; introducing heat for a predetermined cooking cycle; allowing expansion of the molding volume for a short predetermined period; and opening the molding volume adjacent each end simultaneously and extracting the cooked article.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,102,677, issued Apr. 7, 1992, to Van Den Berghe, discloses an apparatus and method for producing pressure-baked, cake-like products from a raw granular cereal material. The disclosed method comprises first providing a baking device comprising: a heatable mold means having a cavity for baking a predetermined quantity of the raw material and capable of assuming open, closed, or expansion positions; a heatable punch means selectively movable in and out of said mold cavity for applying a pressure to the raw material; a first jack means for selectively driving said punch means in and out of said mold cavity for causing said mold means to assume said open or closed position; and a second jack means for partially driving said punch means out of said mold cavity for causing said mold means to assume said expansion position. A predetermined quantity of raw material is fed into the baking device. The mold means is then closed by actuating the first Jack means, thereby moving the punch means in the mold cavity. The raw material is next heated and compressed for a preset time period in the mold cavity. Next the mold means is caused to assume the expansion position by actuating the second jack means, thereby partially withdrawing the punch means from the mold cavity. The heated and compressed raw material is then allowed to expand for a preset time period to form a cake-like product. The mold means is opened by actuating the first jack means, thereby withdrawing the punch means from the mold cavity. Finally, the pressure-baked cake-like product is removed from between the mold means and the punch means.
However, none of these references teach or suggest the method of the present invention which provides for a hand-held snack item, and especially a grain cake product, having heat-sensitive food materials applied thereto. Nor do such references teach a method whereby a heat-sensitive food material is applied to a hand-held snack item, followed by a second material which acts to protect such heat-sensitive food material during a subsequent heating operation, thereby allowing the heat-sensitive food material to remain substantially intact. Nor do such references teach a hand-held snack item prepared by such a method.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide such a method. It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a product.
These objects are accomplished by the invention described herein.
The present invention relates to a method for preparing a hand-held snack item, said method comprising:
(a) applying a first edible, heat-sensitive food material to an initial formed hand-held food item, thereby forming a preliminary coated hand-held food item;
(b) applying a second edible food coating material to said preliminary coated hand-held food item, thereby forming a secondary coated hand-held food item, wherein said second edible food material is applied to said preliminary coated hand-held food item in such a manner as to substantially completely coat said first edible, heat-sensitive food material, and wherein said second edible food material is selected from a material which possesses sufficient physical characteristics to act as a protective medium for said first edible, heat-sensitive food material when said secondary coated hand-held food item is subjected to a temperature in the range of from about 35xc2x0 C. to about 350xc2x0 C. for a period of time in the range of from about 10 hours to about 30 seconds; and
(c) subjecting said secondary coated hand-held food item to a temperature in the range of from about 35xc2x0 C. to about 350xc2x0 C. for a period of time in the range of from about 10 hours to about 30 seconds, thereby producing a final, coated hand-held snack item wherein said first edible, heat-sensitive food material is substantially intact.
The present invention further relates to a hand-held snack item prepared by the method described herein.
The present invention relates to a further method for preparing a hand-held snack item, said method comprising:
(a) preparing a primary edible, liquid food coating material comprising from about 10% to about 90% by weight of a viscosity providing agent, from about 5% to about 80% by weight flavoring ingredients, from 0% to about 90% by weight bulking substance, from 0% to about 30% by weight fatty acid glycerides, and the balance being water;
(b) combining said primary edible, liquid food coating material with an edible, heat-sensitive food ingredient at a ratio of about 10:1 to about 0.5:1 (primary edible, liquid food coating material:edible, heat-sensitive food ingredient), thereby forming a secondary edible, liquid food coating material;
(c) applying said secondary edible, liquid food coating material to an initial formed hand-held food item, thereby forming a coated hand-held food item, wherein said secondary edible, liquid food coating material is applied to said initial formed hand-held food item in such a manner as to substantially completely coat said edible, heat-sensitive food ingredient as it is applied to the initial formed hand-held food item-as part of said secondary edible, liquid food coating material, and wherein said primary edible, liquid food coating material possesses sufficient physical characteristics to act as a protective medium for said edible, heat-sensitive food ingredient when said coated hand-held food item is subjected to a temperature in the range of from about 35xc2x0 C. to about 350xc2x0 C. for a period of time in the range of from about 10 hours to about 30 seconds; and
(d) drying said coated hand-held food item in an oven by subjecting said coated hand-held food item to a temperature in the range of from about 35xc2x0 C. to about 350xc2x0 C. for a period of time in the range of from about 10 hours to about 30 seconds, thereby producing a final, coated hand-held snack item wherein said edible, heat-sensitive food ingredient is substantially intact.
The present invention further relates to a hand-held snack item prepared by such further method as described herein.